Well, praise the Lord, amen? Amen. What a delight, what a privilege it is to come together with the body of Christ and sing praises to his holy name. Let's continue our worship this morning as we turn to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter one. We're gonna be looking at verses four through seven this morning, but I'll start from verse one for context. Hebrews one, verses one through seven. And if you'd please stand with me for the reading of God's Word. This is God's Word. God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in his Son. whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature, and upholds all things by the word of his power, who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as he inherited a more excellent name than they. Four, to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you. And again, I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me. And when he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, and let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels, he says, who makes his angels winds and his ministers flaming fire? May the Lord be blessed. By the reading of his word, you may be seated. Well, if you were with us last week, we started our exposition of this wonderful epistle, and we noted how it began with God. God, and we looked at the significance of God's revelation to us. We took some time to appreciate and praise the Lord that he spoke to us in the first place, something that he was under no obligation to do. Then we marveled at his not only speaking to us, but at what he said at the revelation itself. Namely, the revealing of himself, of his character, of his divine nature. And then, even more incredible, we marveled together at how his divine nature proved to be one that is full of grace and mercy and compassion, that his message to sinful man was one of redemption. Reconciliation, even salvation, clear from the beginning, clear from Genesis chapter three, where he spoke of a coming savior, a deliverer, the seed of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent. And as his revelation progressed through the dispensations, we learn that this deliverer is the one who secured the salvation of our everlasting souls. Salvation from everlasting condemnation, which we all rightly deserved, and salvation to everlasting glory, which none of us deserve. A Savior who did come. A Savior who did, in fact, deliver us from our enslavement to this corrupt world system, the bondage of our old sin nature, and the penalty for our transgressions. One who took our place, one who became poor that we might become rich, one who died so that we might live, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God. Now, In the former days, says the writer of Hebrews verse one, before Jesus walked the earth, before God and human flesh walked the earth that he spoke into existence by the word of his power, God spoke to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways. We talked about the fathers, the Noahs, the Abrahams, the Isaacs, Jacob, et cetera. And we talked about the prophets, the Moses, David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, et cetera. spoke through these men to other men in the forms of oral communication and written communication and foretelling and forth telling. Okay, but that's not all. God spoke to us in creation. He spoke to us through miracles, in dreams, visions, and in many other ways. The point is God spoke with his creatures. God communicated with his creatures, his image bearers, long ago. And the writer quickly pointed out from the opening words that even after those days, God kept on speaking to us. He kept on revealing his nature to us, all the way up to his final mode of revelation, his complete mode of revelation, the sufficient mode of revelation, the perfect mode of revelation, his very own son. Right? The Word incarnate. The Word of God who was with God at the beginning. The Word who was God. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, says John 1. And the point of our introduction was very simple. Everything revolves around the Son. All of redemptive history revolves around the Son. The salvation of your everlasting soul. regardless of what age you lived in, is dependent on the Son alone. His work, not our works. His sacrifice, not our sacrifices. His righteousness, not our supposed righteousness. God the Son, whom God the Father appointed as heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, is the only way to God the Father. The Son who upholds all things by the word of His power, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of majesty on high, is the only way to the Father. The Son of God who was exalted to a place of preeminence at the Father's right hand, where He is now, even now, triumphantly ruling and reigning in the hearts of those who are His, where He is now, even now, building His church, which the gates of hell will not overpower, God the Son presented in the first three verses as the perfect prophet, speaking on behalf of God, the perfect priest or mediator between God and men, having accomplished cleansing for sin once for all for those who believe, and the perfect king, the king of kings, is in fact the only way to the Father. He is the only way to the Father, that's it. And it's this same perfect prophet, priest, and king who is now presented as being much more significant than angels. Angels. Now what in the world is this all about? Why would we need a reminder that God the Son is more important than angels? That seems kind of obvious in light of everything we just said about him, doesn't it? It seems kind of random, right? Of all things that the writer could say here, he talks about angels? Of all the things he could write about and devote such a large portion of his introduction, this is what will carry us through the next couple of months? Christ's comparison to angels, why? What do angels have to do with anything? Why is such special attention given to angels? What's that? Well, you'll see in a second here, I'll tell you, one second here. The answer actually is, as usual, that fallen men, even those who had much exposure to God's revelation, had taken it upon themselves to worship angels. That's why. To exalt them to a position where they ought not be exalted. Okay, now don't get it twisted. Angels were exalted beings. In fact, just in terms of hierarchical structure of creative beings, they were among the greatest, just below the creator himself. But the problem was, especially for new Gentile believers delivered out of paganism, but again, even these Jewish Christians, the problem was they were either A, exalting angels to a spot that was equal to, if not greater than the one who created them, leading Paul to warn the Colossians, let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels. or B, and more applicable to the original recipients of our epistle here, there were those who sought to devalue or reduce the significance of Christ, specifically by bringing him down to the angelic level, okay? There were many going around, just like in our churches today, saying, no, no, God's word doesn't actually mean what it says. In this case, even the words of Christ himself, God's final and perfect form of revelation, even his words, words that we have heard, words given from Christ to the apostles don't actually mean what we've been told they meant. There were those who are going around saying, no way. Jesus was not one with the Father here. He was certainly more than man, but he was not God, okay? Look, we'll give you this. He must have been something else, something better than man. He did miracles. He was raised from the dead. He spoke for God. God's word was revealed through him, just like with angels in the past. The only logical conclusion then is that Jesus was an angel. Maybe the best of angels, even the greatest of angels, but no way, he was not God. So then the writer of this epistle devotes much of his introduction to make the point right from the start. No, no, no. The Son of God was no angel. The Son of God was no angel. He was and is truly God. You know, I think this is a good reminder for us here today, some 2,000 years after this was written, to read, hear, trust, and then ultimately be governed by God's word alone, excuse me, God's word alone, and not to be so dependent or infatuated with man's word. Man's word, you see, is supplemental. In fact, every man or woman, for that matter, who has ever spoken on behalf of God, whether in the form of preaching or teaching, witnessing evangelism, missions and books, and great volumes and works since the close of the canon, have been uninspired. Therefore, they are merely supplemental, and they are to be approached with great caution and discernment. What we're doing right now, what I'm doing right now, supplemental, supplemental, secondary. It's far less significant in your life than the revealed will of God in the scriptures. Far less significant, okay? And while these things can be good and helpful, if this is your only exposure to divine truth, this flawed and errant imperfect form of communication once per week, or if you're just sitting around listening to, reading, or hearing the thoughts of other men all day, you're in big trouble. You will be spiritually emaciated. Weak. You'll be a theological pushover. You'll be enslaved to your emotions and even human logic. No. You need to be in this book every day. There is no substitute for the Scriptures. There is no substitute for the Scriptures. There is no substitute for the Scriptures. Not commentaries on the Scriptures. Not sermons on the Scriptures. Not lectures on the Scriptures. Not vast volumes of extra-biblical works. I don't care how brilliant men of the past were. I don't care how incredible dead theologians were, or preachers, or church fathers were. If they weren't inspired and in the canon of Scriptures, they are just supplemental. Again, they are secondary. And I mean a distant second. Like as far as the east is from the west, second. Same goes for preachers living today. Supplemental, secondary. The writer of Hebrews makes this point emphatically in chapter two. He says, for this reason, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest what? Lest we drift away. Drift away and do what? Oh, I don't know, start worshiping angels or something? Start venerating uninspired men or something. Start praying to saints or making dead men and women our mediators instead of Christ. Placing traditions right alongside truth in terms of being authoritative. Treating confessions and creeds for as helpful as they can be as inspired when they are clearly not, for example. You know, my challenge to us here today, moving forward throughout our study in Hebrews and beyond, is to pay much closer attention to what we have heard, and not from uninspired men, but what we have heard from the Lord, chapter two, verse three, namely, the message of salvation, in his Bible, in his written word, which is all you need. I mean, Jesus isn't walking around here anymore, is he? There are no more apostles living today. There are no more prophets living today. There are no more angelic visions. We have his word alone. And to be honest, what I love about the author of Hebrews, whoever he is, is how that seems to be his focus as well. What did God say? Pay closer attention to what God says. Stop listening to other men's opinions of God and start listening to God himself. is what he's saying. And what I found interesting is how he backs this up in chapter one by not even giving credit to the human authors of the Old Testament quotations. And these men were inspired, okay? They will get their mention later on, but he leaves them out of the star almost as if to say they're not worthy of worship or veneration either. They weren't the ultimate authors of these texts here. Instead, right from the start, he gives seven proof texts demonstrating the supremacy of the Son over all things without citing a single human author in order to bolster their validity. But rather, he says, these claims are based on the ultimate authority, namely God himself. God said this. Look at your own Bibles. You look at it, Hebrews 1.5. Who said, You are my son, today I have begotten you. Well, it wasn't David, not the psalmist, rather he said, God said it. He said. How about this? I will be a father to him and he shall be a son to me. That's 2 Samuel 7. But no, he didn't say as Samuel said, but rather, no, God said that. What about verse six? Let all the angels of God worship him. Psalm 97, who said that? David, the sons of Korah, Asaph? Actually, the psalmist is quoting from Moses in Deuteronomy 32, 43. I don't see any mention of Moses here either. Only he said that. Yahweh the Father said that about Yahweh the Son. And the same thing with verse seven in the remaining quotes in this chapter. He said, he said, he said. The Father said, the Father said, the Father said. God said, God said, God said. The writer of the Hebrews, excuse me, the writer to the Hebrews wants to ingrain this into the hearts of his readers, both in the first century, even in our hearts today, that this is God's revelation to us. It's God's words that matter, not man's words. God's word. And lest he be accused of hypocrisy, the writer doesn't even identify himself. leaving us to call him the writer throughout this entire series. We have to call him the writer. We can't say Paul or John or anything. We have to call him the writer. But his message to these Hebrews, these first century Hebrews who were going astray was, again, pay closer attention to God's word. Not the leaders of Judaism. Not the rabbis, not the priests who have been phased out, and certainly not the ravenous wolves who want to separate you from the flock and devour you by telling you that Christ is not who he claimed to be. Instead, listen to what God himself said about his son. And I would say the same thing to us here today. May we be a church who is always paying attention to the whole of God's inspired word. His word, which we are told in chapter four, is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. So with that way too long of an introduction, which I'm justifying because it's a multi-part series, that was an introduction for the whole, you know, next few weeks. Let's get into God's living and active Word. See further testimony from the Father, why exactly His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is superior to the angels. Verse 4.2 in your outlines, right in the middle of a sentence, having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they. Who is he? Well, again, God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the exalted one, the radiance of the glory of the invisible God, God made manifest, who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Verse three, having become so much better than the angels. Verse four, Now, there are a few questions we have to ask on this passage. First of all, what does it mean having become so much better than the angels? Again, how is this even a question when we just heard he created all things, including angels, that he upholds all things, including angels, by the word of his power? Why, oh why, if he was their creator, would there be any question that he was greater than them? And if at some point he became greater than them, doesn't that mean that there was a point that they were better than him? Good questions. Thank you. We'll start from the top. First of all. Having become so much better than, this is the first of 13 times this word better is used in this epistle. It can mean more excellent, more useful, more advantageous even, but really here it's best understood as of greater significance or of greater superiority or rank. Same with the other 12 occurrences, like a better covenant, a better hope, a better future, a better sacrifice, a better country, better blood, and more. But what's important here is that the son became better, so much better, in fact, than angels. But how and why? Well, he inherited a much more excellent name than they, remember. He was raised and exalted and made to be the heir of all things. How many things? All things, that's right. All things now belong to the Son. He has authority over all things. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, he says. He was exalted to this preeminent position above all rule. above all authority, and one day at his second advent, all things will be put under his feet." Okay, as Philippians 2 says. God also highly exalted him, bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. That's Muslims, that's Jews, that's atheists, Satanists, Democrats. They aren't currently bowing, but they will bow, like it or not. every knee of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's a quote from Isaiah 45, 23, by the way. They will all one day, like us, all bow down and give glory to Jesus Christ. That is future. but he is currently now, ever since his ascension, highly exalted. He is already now the name above all names. The writer says, verse four, he inherited that name, but when? Answer, at his exaltation. following his ascension, following his resurrection, following his burial, following his sacrificial death on the cross for sinners, following his perfect, sinless, spotless life as a man upon the earth, where he was, even though existing in the form of God, even existing as God in human flesh, Hebrews chapter two, verse seven, quoting Psalm 85, was made to be for a little while lower than the angels, okay? for a little while, being the key words there. He's not lower than them anymore. Not anymore. He was made lower than them for a meager 30-some years on this earth. He was made lower than the angels, temporarily speaking. Made to be as we are, as men, in comparison to the angels. Angels are more excellent than we are. They are more useful than we are. They are much more holy than we are, most of the time, anyhow. I mean, think about it. Angels actually spoke for God. They delivered his messages. They carried out his blessings and curses. They guarded the Garden of Eden. Remember, they were there at the giving of the law. They fought battles on behalf of Israel. They were present in visions. Angels are God's servants, his messengers. They were created to be holy by the holy, holy, holy God. And in the Son of God's incarnation, You see, he came way down. He came down to be on our level. That's way down. He didn't come down to merely be at the angelic level. Oh no, he wasn't like an angel. He wasn't some angel like Michael or Gabriel or the spirit brother of Satan. Oh God, destroy these cults who claim that he was. The son of God was no angel, you see. He was always the son of God, even on earth. However, although existing in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, not emptying himself of his deity, but rather setting aside certain privileges of his deity, including being greater than the angels. Again, for a time, by taking on the form of a slave. By being born in the likeness of men and being found in the appearance as a man, again, for a little while, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, the cross where he bore the sin of every man, woman, and child who would ever believe in the promises of God, of God's word throughout the ages. On that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. as he was separated from his father for the first time in all of eternity so that all who would believe, all of his children, all of the elect of God, all those whom he called to himself before the foundation of the world, meaning both Old Testament and New Testament saints, would never have to be separated from him again. He was then taken down from that cross. He was placed in an empty tomb, a tomb which he emerged from three days later, a living, conquering savior. where angels were present, by the way, to say, he's not here, the son has risen, he told you this would happen. The son who then appeared to many witnesses, 500 at one time, who taught his disciples for 40 days, who revealed God's word to them before being taken up bodily into glory. Again, in the presence of angels who says, why are you all staring around into heaven? He's coming back. Get busy proclaiming the good news of great joy, the Savior has come, the Savior of the world, the angels praise God for back at his birth. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased. Giving glory to God even at his incarnation, where he was made lower for a little while. Meaning, during his perfect life, lower. During his sacrificial death, lower. burial lower his resurrection being made better his ascension his exaltation now so much better he is so much better than angels as he has returned to former glory and took his rightful place as heir of all things of all angels back to his rightful place as authority over all things, including angels. That's what Hebrews 1.4 means. He had become so much better than the angels as he inherited a more excellent name, singular, than they, plural, as he was given the name, singular, above all names, plural, plural, including angels. Many angels, like millions of angels here, myriads of angels, 10,000 times 10,000 angels, that's 200 million angels. Legions of angels, all whom he has authority over, as he bears the name, singular, while they bear the names, plural. So that begs the question then, what is the name? What's the name? Though it's not explicitly stated here in verse five, in context it seems very clear to me. His name is Son, Son. Again, angels were called sons of God in some passages, Job 1, 2, and 38, for example, but they were never called Son, singular. Notice the writer doesn't say his name was Christ. That's not his name, by the way, certainly not his last name. That's a title, Messiah. Anointed one, just like the Lord is a title. That's his authoritative title. But the writer of Hebrews doesn't mention those titles here, does he? Rather, he goes on to make his first Old Testament quotation proving that the Son is superior to the angels by reminding them of what God said of him, namely, he is my son. He is my son. Quoting Psalm 2, the writer in verse 5.3 in your outline says this. For to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son? Today I have begotten you. Well, the short answer to that question, the answer the writer of Hebrews expects is none. He didn't say that to any of the angels. Now, Michael is very mighty. Gabriel is very powerful. All the angels are. A single angel can destroy 185,000 people like that, gone. They were awesome, indeed, but they did God's bidding. They proclaimed God's messages. They worshiped and adored the creator, but he didn't call a one of them son. Okay, not a one of them, including Jesus. Why not? Because Jesus was not an angel. Contrary to the teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses, I'm not calling them our Jehovah's Witness friends, by the way, because they're not our friends. I don't like to say that, they're not our friends. They are anti-Christ. That's why they change his nature, his character. We'll get into this more later, but they would say, oh no, angels don't worship Jesus. Jesus is an angel. He's a created being and brother to another angel, Satan. That's what the Mormons say too. You know, Mormons aren't our friends either. Quote, impress them on the point, they'll admit that they believe Jesus is the brother of Lucifer. You see, according to Mormon theology, God called Jesus and Lucifer together and said, we need to redeem humanity. The two creative beings, Jesus and Lucifer, both gave their suggested plan. The father went with Jesus' suggestion, Lucifer got ticked, and from that time has been determined to undermine his brother's work. What a quote. What a theory. And at least that's what the Mormons, or excuse me, now the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints, said decades ago, but they changed their theology with every passing season, it seems. The point is, God didn't call any of the angels his son, nor did he ever make or ever call his son an angel. The son of God was no angel. He's so much better than the angels, amen? That's right. He is superior to the angels. He rules over the angels. And as we'll soon see, he is worshiped by the angels. For to which of the angels did he ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you? Now that's Psalm 2. Again, which says this. Why do the nations rage and the people meditate on a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against Yahweh and against his anointed saying, Let us tear their fetters apart. Let us cast away their cords from us. That's Yahweh and his anointed, his Messiah. In other words, let's break free from Yahweh, become our own gods here, leading to one of my favorite verses in all of scripture. He who sits in the heavens laughs. I love it. The Lord mocks them. Then he speaks to them in his anger and terrifies them in his fury, saying, but as for me, I have installed my king, his king, upon Zion, my holy mountain. That's Jerusalem. This is future. Now our reference. I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh. He said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you, meaning God's Messiah, God's king, God's heir. He's not some angel. Rather, it's his very own son. His eternal Son. The one who has always existed with Him as Son, co-equal in essence and authority along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. This is God the Father speaking to God the Son. Ask of me, I will surely give the nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them with a potter's vessel. That is very appropriate music for this section. I love it. It was heavy. It's very nice. So now, he says, O kings, take insight. Take warning, O judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear. Rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He become angry and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him. He's talking about Yahweh, the Son. God the Son, Jesus Christ the Son, and though there were some immediate applications with David, though there are some immediate applications in the verses to come, including with Solomon and earthly kings and even prophets, the writer of Hebrews bypasses them all to say, no, no, we're looking at this from the perspective of ultimate fulfillment here, their ultimate meaning. I'm presenting them as the one they spoke of in the ultimate sense, the Son, the Son. So this passage in Psalm 2 was about the Son. God the Father is speaking about His Son. God is calling His Savior for the world to hear His Son. God who said, kiss my Son or be destroyed. He's telling you. You can't get up there and say, I didn't know, I didn't know. Well, He just told you. Kiss my Son or be destroyed. kiss my son or face my wrath, a message which the son himself, when he walked the earth he created, repeated. He said, I am the way, the truth, the life. Nobody comes to the father but through me. He who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son will not see life, but what? The wrath of God abides on him. Those are Jesus' words. Those aren't my words, those are Christ's words. But because they're His words, they're my words as well, and they should be your words too. The actual Son, by the way, the actual Son of God, not a Son still lower than the angels, Jehovah's, not a Son still equal with the angels, Mormons, not a Son whose sacrifice wasn't sufficient to fully atone for our sin, Catholics, who run to the Virgin and other dead sinners for mediation, but the very Son of God who is equal to the Father and therefore whose death was sufficient to pay the price for our transgressions. You see why this is such a big deal then? This is not some trivial matter here. If Christ was merely an angel, our salvation is null, our faith is in vain. We are no better than the aforementioned cultists. In other words, no son, no salvation. No son, no salvation, no true son as presented in the word of God, no salvation. Instead, everlasting conscious torment in hell forever. Don't say you didn't hear it. Don't say you didn't hear it. Who didn't hear that, if you can raise your hand? Good, well then when you get up there, you can't say you didn't hear it. Because you just heard it, and you just admitted you heard it. Good, we'll move on then. The writer then backs this up by bringing in the Davidic covenant. Verse five, and to which of the angels did he ever say, I will be a father to him, he shall be a son to me. Turn with me to 2 Samuel 7, you'll have to see this in your own Bibles, I didn't put it on the screen for a reason. 2 Samuel chapter seven. Mm. Second quotation by that writer of Hebrews proving the son's superiority. God speaking to David in the immediate sense says beginning at verse 12, David, when your days are fulfilled, you lie down with your fathers. In other words, when you die. which he did shortly after, when you die, I will raise up one of your seed after you who will come forth from your own body and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house, he shall build a house for my name. Now who's he talking about? Well, anyone who keeps on reading 2 Samuel and the Kings and the Chronicles knows this is a reference to King Solomon. It was Solomon who came out of David's body, no, not the firstborn. Solomon who built the house of Yahweh, the temple where the Ark of the Covenant resided. But remember, the writer of Hebrews is not really concerned with the immediate or temporal context in this chapter. He's interested in proving that the sun is superior to the angels whom some 1st century Hebrews were worshiping. So he quotes the next verse, which is verse 14, but not before we read in verse 13 a key phrase in the Davidic covenant. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever, forever. Forevermore. Now, I don't know who needs to hear this today, but Solomon ain't walking around the holy city anymore. Solomon's been dead for going on 3,000 years now. Solomon, just like his dad before him, died and saw corruption. His body wasn't raised. It stayed in the grave, rotting away. That's where Solomon's body is. However, a seed of Solomon, a seed of David, a stump from the root of Jesse, in fact, died and did not see corruption, Psalm 1610. In fact, he died but was raised, raised bodily and ascended to the position of highest authority as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He was raised. And as the angels said in Acts 1, he would one day come back. He would come back to rule the nations. His inheritance, we just read it, with a rod of iron. And which throne and which location will he rule from? Answer, from the throne of David. And where is the throne of David? Well, it's not in heaven, I'll tell you that. That's God's throne. David's throne is in Jerusalem on earth. And who is the only king that has the ability to rule from that throne forever? In other words, as long as time exists, only the everlasting King, a returning King, the King of Kings. Then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sits on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, having a name written on him which no one knows except himself. And being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, his name is also called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations. And he will rule them with what? A rod of iron. Who is that? The Word of God. According to God in John 1, it's God the Son. According to God in Psalm 2, it's God the Son. According to God in Hebrews 1, it's the Son. The one who treads the winepress of the wrath of the raid of God the Almighty, and he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 1.5, he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He will rule for a thousand years on the earth, and that's explicitly, clearly, repeatedly stated in Revelation chapter 20. And if you don't believe that, well, You ought to think long and hard about why not. Because that's what it says. And you better think long and hard about who persuaded you to believe otherwise. How you have allowed yourself to be convinced that God's word doesn't actually mean what it says. And I call on you to repent and believe his word. Again, 2 Samuel 7, in the temporal of Solomon, I will be a father to him, he will be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will reprove him with a rod of men, strikes from the sons of men. My loving kindness, excuse me, but my loving kindness shall not be removed from him, as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed before you. That's in the temporal. In the eternal, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, I will be a father to him, he will be a son to me. Your house, your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne, David, shall be established forever, forevermore, again to the end of the world as we know it. To which of the angels did God ever say, I will be a father to him, he will be a son to me? Answer, none, because the son is far superior to the angels. But how can we be sure that he is superior to the angels? I mean, besides hearing God's word and believing it, well, hearing more of God's word. Including verses six and seven, final point in your outline. Again, if you fall into the trap of equating Jesus with an angel, it's either because you are A, blinded by Satan, or B, have deliberately chosen to disregard God's clear revelation of him as son. It's right here, verse six. When he again brings the firstborn into the world, he says, and let all the angels of God worship him. Worship him. Okay, so let's talk again about this word firstborn. We have to talk about it. It's a stumbling block to many people. What does this mean? Well, simply put, it has nothing to do with his being created or being born in time. This is a reference to, again, the preeminence of his position, his position as heir. over all things. His position is being exalted to the right hand of the father from where he rules and reigns supreme in the hearts of those who belong to him. While at the same time, upholding all things, governing all things by the very word of his power. This is a matter of preeminence. It's a matter of inheritance, of being the firstborn, which typically denotes the being the rightful heir, right? Now, that doesn't always happen, does it? We just finished Genesis, didn't we? Esau was firstborn, yet Jacob was the child of promise. He was the heir. Reuben was the firstborn, yet Judah was the child of promise, the heir, the one who would carry on the messianic line, right? Same thing with Solomon. Again, Amnon was David's firstborn, yet Solomon was the one who would carry on the messianic line, right? That's right. Solomon was the one who would carry on the seed of the woman. In this case, Jesus, was God's only son, okay? So Jesus, God the son, was the rightful heir of all things, of even the kingdom. Well, what kingdom? Well, both the heavenly kingdom of God and all the worlds, including this world, in other words, all things, all things, which is another way of saying he is the firstborn of all what? Creation. Yeah, things, creation. He's the heir of all creation. He's the heir of all things, but again, You get some guy like Joseph Smith, who God gives quote unquote special revelation to through an angel. Next thing you know, he massacres sound doctrine, proper Christology. Same with the Muslim. One guy in some cave gets a revelation from an angel. Now Jesus is a prophet like Muhammad. Or some nut job like Charles Taze Russell, who comes up with his own interpretive method and starts comparing Jesus with the angels, ends up founding the Jehovah's. Witnesses and many more little man worshiping idol worshiping sex cults who do all do the same They all say Jesus is either equal to or or even less significant than angels But here here in Hebrews 1 the author says no no no no you got it twisted the angels worship the Sun Why because the Sun is God? See verses 2 & 3. I just got done telling you that I said I Angels were created to worship God and God alone, yet angels worship the sun, which means again that the sun is who? God! Yeah, Revelation chapter five. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And I just read this morning. And every created thing, which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them, I heard saying, to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, to the lamb be blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever. And listen to this. The four living creatures kept saying, amen. The elders fell down. and worshiped, how do you get past that? The angels are praising the Lamb of God. They're worshiping the Lamb of God. How do you get past that? How do you deny that? How can you get people to listen to what you're saying and join your little cult? Well, easy. You distract people from the actual scriptures by having them read your little magazines, your Watchtower magazines, or your demonic Book of Mormon, or your Korans, or papal decrees. You take their focus off of the scripture. Instead of saying, read his book, you say, look at me, look at me, listen to what I'm saying. Oh, don't worry about that, listen to what I'm saying. That's how you do it. You fill them with the word of men, which is almost always self-glorifying and self-serving. But the writer of Hebrews says, get your focus back on the word of God. Psalm 97.7, Deuteronomy 32, God spoke. Here's what he said. Let all the angels of God worship him. Who is him? Again, in context, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, quick note. When the writer of Hebrews says, when he again brings the firstborn into the world, when he says again here, He's saying the son, the heir, the firstborn has already come into the world once. And guess what? He's coming again. When he does, the angels will worship him. Pros kuneo, pros before, kuneo, kiss, kiss down, fall down, prostrate, adore, worship, be in reverential awe of. Some believe that the root word kuneo may be related to kuon, which is the Greek word for dog. which then could picture, could be picturing a dog licking his master's hand. That's what some people have said. I think it's better understood as kiss, right? As in kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish in the way. Kiss the son. Worship the son. Angels will give the son the adoration the son alone deserves, as will we when we see him face to face. But even now, the angels are doing what they were created to do. They're worshiping God, they're serving God. Again, they're doing God's bidding. Okay, verse seven. And of the angels, he says, who makes his angels win? And his ministers flaming fire. Again, God makes the angels. He doesn't make the son. The son has always existed. He always will exist. He's the eternal son. He didn't become the son at his birth. That's called incarnational sonship. That's wrong. Rather, he has always existed as the son of God, along with God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and that's called eternal sonship, and that's right. More on that next week. But what the writer of Hebrews is saying in verse seven, again, quoting Psalm 104, is he makes his angels, they are his creation, they're his possession, he makes them winds. And his ministers, again, angelic servants, flaming fire. Now, what does this mean? Does this mean that he turns his angels into the actual elements, wind and fire? Is this wind and fire personified here? Or is it that he makes them like wind and fire in terms of being fast and powerful? I don't know. I can see arguments for both, though. The important takeaway here, though, and what the writer wants us to know is, again, the angels worship the sun. The angels do the bidding of the Son. Why? Because the Son is supreme over all things, including the angels. The Son of God is no angel. He is so much better than they are. And that's Hebrews 1, verses four through seven. And really the launching pad for not only further divine declarations next week, but for the rest of the epistle as well. And that's how we're gonna end today. So how do we bring this home? Don't get too excited. We've got about three more minutes. How do we bring this home? How do we apply this text to our lives in the here and now? Well, I think by going back to where we started, God's word, his holy and inspired word. okay, has written instruction in both the Old and New Testaments through the prophets, the psalmists, the apostles, are of utmost importance in our lives. Do not neglect this book is what I'm telling you, especially for the works and words of fallible men. Don't ever be so foolish as to exalt man's word, no matter how brilliant they are or charming they are or charismatic they are or as reputable as they are, over and above God's word. Be in this book, stay in this book, Recognize the eternal implications for your everlasting soul in this book. Let the writer of Hebrews be your example that we shouldn't unhitch from the Old Testament, that's nonsense, or ignore large swaths of the Old Testament for any reason at all. This is how God speaks to us. The writer is clear. Pay closer attention to the revelation from God to us. It's through his son in his word. This book speaks of the salvation of your everlasting soul. It tells you who to worship, why you worship them, and how to worship them. So don't be swayed by those who would seek to corrupt it or lead you astray by their own interpretations of what it says, causing your worship to potentially be misplaced worship. Be a good Berean. Do your own research. Use reputable resources, but do so with great discernment, recognizing they are flawed. But more than anything, prayerfully read the scriptures. Ask the Lord to make their meaning clear. He will do just that. If you're here this morning, you don't know the Son. The good news of great joy is that God the Father sent Him into the world to take on human flesh, to live the perfect sinless life that we can never live in order to offer Himself as a willing sacrifice, as the perfect sinless spotless Lamb of God, to shed His blood to atone for the sins of many. Where we failed, Christ prevailed. He offers purification of sin, forgiveness of sin, to all who would but hear his call through his word, turn from their sin, turn from this fleeting world system, turn to their creator by grace alone through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone according to the scriptures alone for the glory of God alone. And if you hear his call today, if you have never have, I would invite you to come to him. If you have any questions about what this looks like, come talk to me or one of the elders after the service. For now, let's stand for the benediction. as we have Noel and the music team come up and close us in musical worship. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And all God's people said. Amen.